


One Man Was Tall

by FlyBoy



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-02-05
Updated: 2011-02-05
Packaged: 2017-10-15 10:44:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,916
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/160032
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FlyBoy/pseuds/FlyBoy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Just when you thought you had your partner all figured out, he had to go and screw it all up, didn't he?</p>
            </blockquote>





	One Man Was Tall

One man was tall. The other man was short(er). One man had a long, deliberate stride when he walked. The other man had a shorter but equally determined stride as he tried to keep up with the fast pace set by the taller man. One man had a grim, focused look on expressive face. The other man had an equally determined look on his even more expressive face.

The one man thought he was the master of hiding his emotions, thoughts and feelings from all around him, and to a large extent he was. Despite the fact that they had only known each other for a short time, the other man was able to read the first man like an open, large print book.

Both men bore looks of equal intensity and determination as they walked, half ran across the parking lot where they had parked their car. The one man answered to the name Steve. The other man was known as Danny to most, Danno to one, maybe grudgingly two people.

One was a native of Hawaii. The other was a transplant – reluctantly – from a land far, far away. One found the Hawaiian Islands to be Paradise on Earth. The other found the same islands be to be Purgatory and viewed his stay there as punishment for some crimes committed in an earlier pass through life.

The two men fought like cats and dogs, seeming to argue constantly about everything from the day of the week to the color of the sky when the sun was shining. Despite their seemingly constant bickering, the two men had grown to admire and respect one another in just the short time they had worked together. While it was never spoken aloud, either of them would have done just about anything for the other. God help whoever crossed one or the other of them because that person incurred the wrath of the other man brought down upon themselves like a ton of bricks being dropped on their head.

Danny was still trying to get used to working in a state where an airplane flight was required to go to so many places. Their total geographical district was relatively compact – that is, until you considered the number of gallons of seawater that separated some of those parts. Technically their jurisdiction encompassed islands spread out over 1,600 miles. In reality only eight of the many islands were populated. Of those eight, while some might have need of their assistance occasionally, 98% of their time was spent on four islands: Oahu, Hawaii, Maui, and Kauai. Of those four, well over 50% of their time was spent on their home island of Oahu, the most populated of all the islands. At least once a week – frequently much more often – they were called to a neighboring island for some task, sometimes small and minor but other times major. When major events happened, regardless of the island, they went. If they were working a case on Maui they went back and forth every day.

Danny grumbled and complained about living in a state where you couldn’t drive you car to the scene of the crime. Over the previous six months he had grown more accustomed to going into the office in the morning only to find himself flying to a neighboring island sometime during the day.

While he never had – and never would – admit this, when he had to fly back and forth between Oahu and Maui twice one day he was quietly a little excited, maybe even thrilled, at the experience. The fact that flights went back and forth between the islands every few minutes didn’t matter to him – it was a first time for him. The older he got, the more rare those life first-time experiences become. Again, he would absolutely never, never, ever admit his feeling to his colleague, Steve, Danny stepped a little prouder that evening. It had felt exciting – exotic – somehow.

At the moment, however, neither man was feeling excitement or pride or satisfaction. They had just left the scene of a particularly gruesome crime. Danny thought to himself that had he known where they were going to be called at 1:00 that day, he would have skipped lunch. Danny was a seasoned, experienced police veteran. He had seen a lot, done a lot, been surprised a lot by man’s inhumanity to his fellow man. But this crime scene disturbed him.

Steve was likewise discomforted by what they had just observed, but he also would never willingly admit how much it disturbed him. He was after all, a seasoned military officer who had seen – and done – some pretty horrendous things in his life. Nonetheless he was disquieted as well.

Both men exhibited their disquiet by adopting an outwardly grim and determined look.

“Hey! Big guy! Do you think you can run any faster?” Danny asked.

“What?” Steve answered, genuinely baffled. “I’m not running. What’s your problem, Danno?”

“Again, don’t call me that, Steven!”

“Don’t call me that!” he returned with the same energy.

“Well, then don’t call me Danno.”

“Why?” Steve asked, never really clear on why his partner objected to being called ‘Danno’. “It’s a nice name! I like the way it sounds.”

“The only one who gets to call me ‘Danno’ is my daughter, and unless you’re hiding an eight-year old girl in one of the pockets of your cargo pants, you don’t get to call me that.”

Steve was in no mood for complex philosophical discussions. “Come on Danno, get the lead out,” he ordered impatiently.

Danny stopped, threw his arms up in the air in frustration, and said aloud, “It’s like I’m talking to myself for all the good it does. Why do I waste the breath?”

“Come on, Danno! I’m not waiting for you to have a hissy fit! Get your ass in the car now or I’m leaving you here!”

“Don’t even think about that! I mean, just don’t go there … or even anywhere close to there! Do you hear me? Is my voice getting all the way up there to the head on your freakishly tall body? Huh?”

Knowing Steve well enough to know that it wasn’t an idle threat, Danny picked up the pace and jumped into the car that was already started and ready to roll. He had doubts about many things, but he did not for a minute doubt that Steve would drive off and leave him standing there is a remote parking lot on another island. He didn’t even want to think about how he would get back home or how long that trip might take him.

“So what’s the hurry, big guy? We’ve got a pretty clear-cut case here. Pretty gruesome case, mind you, but pretty clear-cut. Or did you see something else from way up there?”

“Enough with the tall jokes Danno. I’m not in the mood.”

Pausing for a second or two, Danny asked, “What’s wrong, Steve? Even for you this is odd behavior.”

Danny’s question was met with silence. The only acknowledgement that Steve had heard the question was that the car sped up, taking a corner at what Danny considered a dangerous speed.

“Hey! Slow down there, Wild Bill! We’re not in a race here! I’d really like to live to get home tonight if you don’t mind! And don’t think that little stunt is going to distract me! Come on, Steve, what’s up? Talk to me, big guy. What’s wrong?”

Taking his eyes off the road, Steve looked at Danny and practically growled, “Why does everything have to be something with you? Huh? What’s with all the touchy feely crap? Huh?”

Danny was confused. “Hey, you know me: Danny Williams, Mr. Touchy Feely.”

“Enough! Please, can you just shut up for ten seconds? Did you ever think that maybe I’ve got a headache?”

“No. I don’t believe that pain is allowed anywhere near Steve McGarrett.”

“Well, then, you don’t know shit about me.”

“On the contrary, my freakishly tall friend, I can read you like a cheap airport paperback book.”

“Really? Really? Then what am I thinking? Huh? Mr. Know-It-All? Mr. Touchy Feely Super Investigator? What am I thinking at this second?”

“That’s easy. You’re thinking ‘I’m so glad that Danny Williams came into my life.’”

Steve’s only answer was to step down on the gas pedal harder.

“Hey!” Danny yelled. “Take those size 22 boots off the gas a little if you don’t mind! Are you trying to get us killed? Pull over and let me drive. Right now! Do you hear me?”

“How can I not hear you – you never shut up! You’re always yammering on about something!”

“’Yammering’? Now where in the world did that one come from?”

Steve turned his head slightly toward Danny and this time really did growl. “Danny, I swear, …”

Danny decided to not push the subject at the moment since the man was behind the wheel and the road was very curvy. The two rode quietly for a few minutes, Steve finally slowing down to only a slightly dangerous speed. At the airport they returned their rental car and Steve took off at what could aptly be described as a gallop toward the terminal, Danny again having to practically race after him to keep him in sight.

The beautiful Polynesian woman at the check in counter immediately issued them two boarding passes when Steve flashed his state badge and ID. She directed them to the security checkpoint and told them that their flight left in 35 minutes.

They easily cleared security and headed toward the gate where Steve seemed to throw himself onto an open seat. He closed his eyes and rubbed his hand across his face as if trying to wipe away something. Danny disappeared for a few minutes before taking the open seat next to Steve. When Steve did not respond, Danny nudged him.

“What!?” Steve snapped until he saw that Danny was holding something out for him.

“Take it!” Danny said, pushing a cold bottle of water toward him. Danny pulled something out of a small plastic bag from one of the ubiquitous airport shops and held up three different types of pain relievers. “Okay, you didn’t say what kind of pain you’re having, so I didn’t know if you needed something for muscle pain, or a general purpose pain reliever. Some people like Tylenol but others prefer your basic All-American aspirin. Others swear by Advil. So here’s all three for you to pick from.”

When Steve starred back and forth between Danny’s face and the items in his hand, Danny said, “Earth to Steve! Hello! Anyone home? Take these, dammit! They cost me a fortune. Have you bought anything at an airport shop recently? The prices are outrageous. I guess people don’t need pain relievers at airports. Either that or a lot of people need pain relievers and they know they have a captive market and that they can charge anything they want.”

Steve continued to look at Danny’s face. Danny met his stare and said, “Um, this is where you say ‘thank you’.”

“Thank you,” Steve said hesitantly. Steve took the Advil from the three offerings and opened the bottle of water, downing two of the pain relievers.

“There, was that so hard?”

“Shut up, Danno.”

“Geesh, ingrate!” Reaching into his airport shop bag once again, Danny pulled out a plastic bottle of a well-known soft drink, handing the bottle to Steve.

“What’s that? Have you ever seen me drink one of those things? Do you know how much sugar is in those things?”

“They also have caffeine, which is good for headaches. The caffeine helps to counteract the swelling of blood vessels in the head which makes the pain begin to subside. Take it and drink some of it now before we get on board. You need to get to feeling better before we take off.”

“Danny, it’s a 28 minute flight. We’re barely up before we come back down again.”

Danny ignored Steve utterly and thrust the bottle toward him once again. “You want me to show you how to work that thing?” he asked, nodding toward the cap on the top.

“No, thank you. I think I can figure it out. You on the other hand, not so much.” Steve was quite honestly constantly surprised by Danny Williams. Every time he thought he had the guy figured out his ideas were usually blown completely out of the water. This was just another example. Why had Danny done this? Why had he brought pain relievers – multiple pain relievers – and water and the soda? It seemed that for every exasperating thing the guy did he came up with some equally unexpected and thoughtful action.

“What? I’m helping out a friend who seems to be in pain. That’s what friends do for one another – they take care of each other. Haven’t you ever had friends before?”

“Yes, Danno, I’ve had lots of friends. I’ve just never known anyone like you before, I assure you.”

“So, see? You are glad that I came into you life,” he said somewhat triumphantly with his chin thrust up into the air, holding his head proudly, smiling one of his killer smiles that seemed to start in Kauai and end somewhere on the big island. Steve always wondered how such a small guy could have such big smiles.

When their flight was called a few minutes later, Steve tried to hand the bottle of water and the bottle of soft drink back to Danny, who objected. “What do I look like? Your wife with some ten-gallon purse? Carry your own damn things!”

This time Danny took off first leaving Steve to catch up with him. They were fortunately flying at an off time of day so the usual tourist volume was down with only about 40% of the plane filled. Danny grabbed a window seat near the front of the plane, not at all sure what Steve was going to do. Steve sat down in the empty seat next to Danny.

“Starting to feel a little better? Part of it could be dehydration. It is unbearably hot here in this state, and that can suck the moisture right out of a man’s body.”

It was at that point that it happened. Steve turned toward Danny and watched the man’s lips moving. He heard Danny speak about something sucking the moisture out of a man’s body. In that instant he made his decision. Suddenly, without any warning, Steve leaned over toward Danny and kissed him. Grabbing Danny’s face, he held him still while he locked lips together in a searing kiss that seemed to go on forever.

Of all the things that Steve could have done, this was not one that Danny would have predicted or ever expected. He did not see this one coming. He was frozen. He didn’t know what was happening so he didn’t know if he should push back, grab hold, scream, kick, or curl his toes in delight.

As quickly as it started, Steve pulled back and sat back in his seat, fastening his seat belt as nonchalantly as if nothing had just happened. For once Danny Williams was speechless, which actually brought a small smile to Steve’s face. Danny stared at nothing in particular as his brain tried to catch up with what had just happened.

Turning toward Steve and holding up one finger, Danny was about to ask a question when Steve said, “Quiet. They’re giving the safety briefing. It’s rude to talk while they’re trying to do this.”

While the flight attendant spoke, their flight pushed back and taxied. Moments later their plane was in the air. Danny did admire the efficiency of air travel in Hawaii – this was one thing the islanders did better than anywhere else in the world.

Danny turned to Steve and said, “Excuse me, but what just happened? What were you lips doing on my face?”

“I believe that it is known as a kiss, Danno. It’s what happens when one person’s lips come in contact with another person’s lips.”

“Commander McGarrett, I know what a kiss is.”

“Then why did you ask me what that was?”

Danny started to open his mouth to say something but nothing came out. He sat with his hand in the air and his mouth open, staring at nothing in particular. He searched for the right words. “Let me try this again. Why did you kiss me?”

“I felt like it. It seemed like the right thing to do to shut you up. That plus say ‘thank you’.”

“Thank you?”

“Yea, thank you for being a friend and for being so thoughtful and helping me out when I hurt. Don’t tell Kono or Chin but I’ve come to like you.”

“Do you thank all of your male friends the same way?”

“No, only a few.”

“A few … ?”

“Yes, that means more than one but less than a lot.”

“A few?”

Keeping a calm face, Steve nodded and said, “Yes, a few.”

“You’ve kissed men before?”

“Yes, a few.”

“A few?”

“Yes. You having a stroke or something, Danny?”

“Perhaps.”

“Ladies and gentlemen,” the pilot said over the loud speaker, “we’ve started our descent into the Honolulu Airport. We should be at the gate in nine minutes. Thank you for flying with us today. Flight attendants, prepare the cabin for landing and arrival.”

A flight attendant came through at that very moment asking for any trash they might have and also urging everyone to return their seats to a full, upright and locked position.

“This is not over, McGarrett.”

“Never thought it was, Danno. Personally I’m hoping to get a little sometime soon.”

Again Danny’s mouth hung open with half formed words trying to find their way out.

“A little what?”

“You’re little, so how about you?”

For a man who was normally a take charge, mouthy, pushy, in control kind of guy, Danny Williams was at an absolute, utter, complete loss about what to say at that moment. He wanted to complain, to rant, to rave, to shout, to yell. First there was the kiss thing. Then there was the ‘little’ thing. For the life of him he didn’t know what to complain about first.

Danny Williams might be many things, but he took exception to the ‘little’ description. That was before he even brought his mind anywhere near the concept of Steve wanting to ‘get a little’. There was friendship, but then that was just too much information.

As the wheels of their plane made contact with the runway and they rapidly slowed, Danny leaned over to Steve and said vehemently, “McGarrett, I am many things, but I am not ‘little’.”

“Then why do you keep talking about things ‘way up there’ when referring to me?”

“I am not little.”

“I’m sorry. You’re not little, you’re short,” Steve said with a poker face.

“McGarrett! Stop! You are digging yourself a hole that’s getting deeper and deeper! I am not little. I am not short. Do you hear me? Do you hear what I’m saying?” he asked very energetically and emphatically.

“In some ways you are, but not in the important ways. I think you’re basically a Rottweiler packed into a dachshund body.”

Raising his voice, he said, “Dachshund?!”

“Yeah, you know, the little wiener dogs. The kids used to call them penis dogs when I was growing up.”

Danny’s mouth was open. “So you think I’m what … a penis with legs?”

“Yes, short little legs,” Steve said, holding up one hand and putting his fingers close together, indicating small. “But a cute little body.”

While they had talked their plane had taxied to the gate. Since the flight was not full and the two of them were near the front of the plane, Steve and Danny were some of the first people off the plane.

With his headache under control, Steve was once again feeling like himself and was ready to tackle the world once again. Steve was eager to get moving, but then, really, when wasn’t he moving? The man seemed to be perpetually in motion – swimming, running, jumping, hiking – doing something ridiculously athletic all the time.

Once again Danny was nearly running to try to keep up with the taller man. As he walked along through the crowded terminal he tried to keep the other man in sight so that he didn’t lose him in the crowd. His eyes were naturally on Steve’s back as he tried to keep the man in sight. While he was sure that he must have seen that particular aspect of the man before, for some reason now he couldn’t take his eyes off the man’s body. He studied the shape of the man’s ass, the solidness of his back, his purposeful stride, and the legs – those long, lean legs. Wait a minute! Wait a minute! Wait a minute! Where the hell did that come from?

When Steve noticed that Danny was not beside him, he turned and said, “Come on, Danno. Pick up the pace. Move those little legs. We haven’t got all day.”

“Why do you see the need to run everywhere? Huh? Tell me that.”

“I’m not running – you’re just strolling along like you don’t have anything else to do.”

“Oh, and just what do you have to do that is all damned important that you can’t walk like a civilized human being?” Danny practically sputtered.

Of all the answers Danny might have anticipated, the one he got brought him up short: “You.”

“Me? Me what?”

“You really aren’t chugging on all cylinders today, are you, Danno?”

“Don’t you worry about what I’ve got chugging, McGarrett. What I’m concerned about is you. What have you been chugging? Or snorting? Or smoking?”

“I don’t smoke, you know that. Never took a drug in my life. And all I’ve had to drink is that water you gave me plus the soda. That really was sweet, did you know that? Did you know how much sugar they put in those things? You know that sugar is a stimulant, right? It can throw off your endocrine system, make your heart pump faster. It tasted good. I didn’t know what I’d been missing all these years. …”

“Whoa. Enough. Stop. Ok?” Danny said, stopping where he stood and smiling. “Are you having a sugar rush? You are, aren’t you? You’ve never had soda before?” He chuckled. “Oh this is sweet. Wait until you crash. You are going down so hard,” he said somewhat gleefully.

Once again Steve stopped, turned, and grabbed Danny for another unexpected kiss. This one was quicker but had no less disabling impact on Danny than the first one.

“If I’m going down on anything, I plan on going down on you, Mr. Williams.”

“Huh?” Danny said, feeling like the power of speech had been sucked right out of his mouth by the most recent kiss.

Danny stood frozen in place. Steve grabbed his hand pulling him forward, if for no other reason than that there was a lot of foot traffic in the terminal that was trying to get around Danny.

Walking along beside Steve, Danny looked down at the other man’s hand holding his and asked, “Who are you? And why are you holding my hand?”

“Simple, Danno. You were standing in the middle of the hallway blocking traffic. Do you know how many tourists come through this airport every day? A lot! And we have standing orders from the governor to help ensure that our visitors have a good time while here so that they will come back again and spend more money at the hotels, restaurants, tours, …”

“Yes, yes, I know how the economy works. People have money. We want money. They come here and spend their money and on it goes. But back to the main subject. Why did you kiss me – in the airport, in public!” Danny finally managed to pull his hand free from Steve’s hand.

“I felt like it.”

“Since when have you had feelings?”

“I’ve always had feelings, Danno, I just don’t wear them on my sleeve for the world to see like you do.”

“Why do you keep kissing me?”

“You have sweet looking lips. They just called out to be kissed, so I did. Now shut up and come on.”

“You really need lessons in how to sweet talk someone, do you know that?”

Steve was out the door, moving at a steady stride, leading them to where they had parked Danny’s car. Inside the car with the air conditioning cranked up and Steve behind the wheel, they took off –  
Danny hadn’t even thought to ask where they were headed. His head was spinning with so many questions, so many objections.

It was Danny’s car, but Steve was driving. Danny didn’t know how they had gotten into the habit, but whenever he and Steve went anywhere together, Steve drove Danny’s car. Steve always complained that Danny drove like a little old lady and that he, Steve, drove more assuredly. Danny would have called it recklessly – and did. But somehow they had fallen into the pattern of Steve driving.

Without discussing it at first, Steve drove them to his house. When he pulled into the driveway, Danny turned to him and asked, “Why are we here? Your truck is at work, isn’t it?”

“Come on, Danno,” he said as he got out of the car and headed into the house. Danny sat for a minute before getting out and following, determined that he needed to find out who this man was, who had kidnapped his Steve, and whether the general public was in jeopardy as a result of the arrival of space aliens.

The front door was open so Danny stepped inside, closing the door behind him. He heard Steve moving around in the kitchen so he headed in that direction. Steve walked out of the kitchen and handed Danny an ice cold beer. “Come on,” he said, leading the way to his palm tree shaded patio. With a gentle breeze blowing in from the ocean it really was pleasant, but Danny wouldn’t admit finding it so.

They sat in two heavy deck chairs and quietly sipped their beers. “Lose the tie, Danno. You’re off duty. My patio has a strict no tie policy.”

Grudgingly Danny loosened his tie and unbuttoned the top button of his shirt. “Better?”

“Getting there.”

“Getting there? What are you talking about?”

Rather than answer with words, Steve set his beer down, rose from his chair, turned to Danny and straddled his body, putting his knees on either side of the man’s body. He leaned in and planted another mega-kiss on Danny’s lips. This time he didn’t pull away as quickly as he had earlier. He used his tongue to explore Danny’s mouth. He slipped one of his hands into the opening in Danny’s shirt and found one of his nipples, tweaking and rubbing and teasing the little thing until it tightened up and became as sharp as a tack.

He pulled back a moment to assess Danny’s freak-out factor. Satisfied that the man was holding it together, he dove in again for another kiss, intensifying his move. He wrapped one hand around the back of Danny’s head, leaning his head back slightly to give him the best angle of attack.

Danny wondered how the man had so many hands. He felt one on his neck and head, another working his nipples – really, who knew nipples could feel so good – and another one … whoa! Wait a minute! He felt yet another hand lower, reaching into his pants to grab his erect dick. Wait a minute! Why was his dick hard? Where the hell had that come from? What was going on here!?

He decided that there must have been something in the air or in the water on Maui that had caused the two men to lose their sanity. He couldn’t think of any other explanation to account for this totally unexpected behavior on Steve’s part and his bizarre personal reaction. He had never in his life looked at a man and had a sexual thought. But somehow, some way, Steve was getting him hot, really hot, massively hot.

When Steve pulled back and smiled a cute little smile a few inches from Danny’s face, Danny practically panted with desire, wanting Steve’s lips back on his, wanting Steve’s many hands on his body.

Without knowing how the man did it, Steve somehow had unbuttoned his shirt while they were kissing. Pushing the shirt off Danny’s shoulders, he lifted the sleeveless t-shirt that was underneath and pulled it up over Danny’s head.

Steve moved back a bit and moved his lips down to Danny’s sweet chest. Steve loved the coating of coarse hair that covered Danny’s seriously cute chest. Steve swirled his tongue around one of Danny’s nipples while tweaking the other with his hand. Teasing Danny ever so slightly, Steve darted his tongue back and forth across the nipple with feather lite touches. Danny’s head dropped backwards and a moan escaped his lips. “Holy sweet Jesus!” he muttered.

“I’ll take that as an affirmative vote,” Steve said, reaching back up to kiss Danny once again. This time when his lips met Danny’s for the first time Danny kissed back. Danny’s hands went to the sides of Steve’s head, holding his head in place so that he couldn’t escape. Danny didn’t want the experience to end – an experience that was absolutely, utterly, completely new to him. An experience that just an hour earlier he would have denied ever thinking about or craving. Ever. Ever. Ever. But now he found himself kissing Steve and rubbing against his body like a bitch in heat.

Steve’s gifted hands moved down from Danny’s nipples to the waist of his pants. Before Danny knew it had happened, Steve had the belt unfastened, the zipper lowered, and his hands inside Danny’s briefs.

Steve pulled back, dragging Danny’s pants and briefs with him in one smooth move, exposing Danny’s throbbing hard erection to the air. Steve immediately moved forward and Danny found yet another new experience that made him see stars. Steve had moved his lips to the head of Danny’s erection.

Danny, man of the world, cocksure guy, had never experienced a blowjob. He would never admit that to any living human, especially another man. But when Steve’s lips wrapped themselves around the head of his penis and started to work their way downward, Danny thought he was on his way to see God. Never before had he felt such intense sexual delight. Steve had his extraordinarily gifted lips wrapped around the base of Danny’s not insubstantial erection in no time at all. Somehow the man was taking all of Danny’s erection into his mouth and the back of his throat.

Without realizing what he was doing, Danny’s hands moved to the back of Steve’s head, resting there while the man started to bob up an down on Danny’s erection. Danny was able to mutter a few single words but was unable to string any words together into anything as coherent as a sentence. Eventually he simply fell into moaning and trying to push his dick deeper into Steve’s throat whenever the man pulled back.

All too soon, Danny quickly jumped over that magic line and experienced one of the most intense orgasms he had ever experienced in his life. He screamed, thrashed, bucked, but somehow Steve managed to keep Danny’s dick firmly held in his mouth and throat, riding out his ejaculation. Every drop Danny produced Steve swallowed, savoring every particle.

As Danny started to return to Earth, Steve held his mouth in place as Danny’s erection started to subside and return to a more normal resting state. Danny collapsed back into his chair with his head resting on the back of the chair, trying to get his breathing back into something like a normal rhythm.

Steve gently slipped off Danny’s penis and returned to his seat next to Danny. He took a swig of his beer and sat quietly for a few moments until Danny reopened his eyes and started to appear ready for human speech once again. He gave Danny one of his killer smiles and reached over to squeeze the man’s hand. “Want another beer, Danno?”

He finished off his own beer and went into the kitchen to retrieve another one for each of them. Back on the patio he put the opened cold bottle in Danny’s hand and retook his seat. Danny stared at him.

“Wow!” was all he said, but Steve didn’t need to hear another word. He smiled at Danny and raised his bottle of beer toward Danny, clinking their bottles together.

“So, I did good?” Steve asked.

“Wow!” Danny repeated.

“Good,” Steve said as he drank some more of his beer and looked out toward the ocean.

After a moment of silence, Danny said, “So, I need to ask a question – actually a bunch of questions – I just need to decide where to start.”

“Take your time. I’m not going anywhere. I’m having a sale on answers to questions today – two for the price of one.”

“Where did this all come from? I didn’t have any hint, no inkling, nothing that you were interested in men sexually. So where did this all come from?”

“I’m very good.”

“Yes, you are,” Danny agreed.

“I’m trained in stealth techniques. I can infiltrate anything anywhere unobserved.”

“No argument. I have definitive proof that your stealth techniques are very good. I didn’t see that coming.”

“So to speak,” Steve said seriously. “But trust me, you did come.”

“Yes, I know that. My toes are still trying to uncurl from the intensity of my orgasm.”

Steve smiled with a bit of pride at Danny’s comment, pleased that he had succeeded in his mission.

Danny rose from his chair, instinctively trying to cover himself from the sight of another man. There was something that culture had imposed on men that made them not want to be seen naked around other men. He didn’t understand it.

He pulled his pants up and said simply, “Bathroom.”

While he was in the bathroom, Steve moved into the house. When Danny walked out of the bathroom wearing just his pants, Steve was standing in the hall outside the bathroom door holding Danny’s shirts. Still holding the shirts he walked down the hall. “Can I have my shirt, please!?” Danny asked.

“In a minute.”

“Why ‘in a minute’?” he complained as he trailed after Steve.

When he stepped inside Steve’s bedroom he found the man had shed his own shirt and once again locked his lips on Danny’s. Leading the man to the bed he gently laid then backwards on his bed before crawling on top of him, barely breaking their kiss. Danny’s hands instinctively went to Steve’s back.

He ran his hands over Steve’s well-muscled back, following every muscle he could find, savoring the feel of the man’s strong back everywhere he touched.

Breaking their kiss, Danny said, “I’m confused.”

“I know, it happens all the time, but don’t worry – I don’t think any less of you.”

Danny wanted to rant and complain, but Steve only smiled. “You are so easy.”

They kissed again before Danny said, “You see, that’s the problem. I’m not easy. I’ve never, ever been with a man, thought of a man sexually, or had a man give me such good feelings. I’m … I’m … confused.”

“Don’t worry about it, Danno. People get too wrapped up in labels that limit them too much. You just need to go with what feels good and call good that which feels good.”

Before Danny could answer, Steve kissed him again and somehow reached down and again unbuckled the man’s pants. Rising quickly from the bed he pulled Danny’s pants, briefs, shoe, and socks off his body, leaving him lying naked on his back on Steve’s bed. Steve shed his own clothes remarkably quickly before climbing back onto the bed, again lying on top of Danny’s naked body. Again they kissed. Again, Danny’s penis reacted to the kiss, lengthening and thickening. This time, however, it was rubbing against another equally excited penis. Talk about a day of new experiences! Danny was just plowing through the list of new experiences one after another today.

Danny’s hands wandered over Steve’s back, moving lower to cup Steve’s firm butt. When he realized what he was doing he jerked his hands away like he had touched something burning hot. Steve smiled at him again and said simply, “You can touch my ass anytime you want, Danno. In fact, you can do just about anything you want with my ass and I likely will not complain.”

Steve kissed him some more, working his own hands underneath Danny’s body to rub some of the man’s naked flesh. He rolled the two of them onto their sides so allow himself more access to Danny’s own butt, savoring the feel of the man’s firm backside.

Steve paused for a moment, simply staring at Danny’s face. Danny was becoming concerned. “What?” he asked. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong. Quite the opposite. Just admiring one of the most attractive men I’ve ever seen. Do you have any idea how much you drive me crazy with that face and body of yours?”

“Apparently not.”

Steve jumped off the bed for a second, dashing to the adjacent bathroom for a few seconds. When he returned, he jumped back onto the bed with Danny and again wrapped his lips around Danny’s very erect penis. Danny was prepared for another of Steve McGarrett’s extra special blowjobs, but he was not prepared for the sensation that followed.

Not sure what Steve was doing, Danny saw the man move forward, bringing his own erection into view. Danny had felt the man’s erect penis rubbing against his belly, but this was his first chance to see the thing up close and personal. He momentarily panicked, thinking that Steve was telling him it was pay back time.

Instead, Steve moved back a little and rolled a condom down over Danny’s erection. He then maneuvered himself directly over Danny’s crotch and positioned Danny’s erection where he wanted it. He started to lower himself onto Danny’s erection, not stopping until the man’s erection was fully seated inside his body. Danny wanted to moan but found that he wasn’t ever able to do that. If he had thought the man’s blowjobs were special, this was beyond anything he had felt before in his limited sexual experience.

Placing his hands on Danny’s chest and gently tweaking his nipples with both hands, Steve started to rise a little off Danny’s erection before immediately sliding back down. He leaned forward and kissed Danny once again, but this time only briefly before sitting up once again to allow him better control over his moves.

Up and down, in and out, over and over, Steve rode Danny’s erection, carefully watching the variety of looks that passed over the man’s face. He knew it wouldn’t take long for the man to erupt once again but he hoped that Danny would last long enough to enjoy their activity.

Steve took one hand from Danny’s nipples and wrapped it around his own hefty erection. As he moved up and down on Danny’s erection he worked his own. While he wanted to time the two orgasms as closely as possible, that was rarely possible. His own orgasm hit first. He threw his head back and cried out a bit when he came, semen splashing all across Danny’s hairy chest, one blast reaching as high as his neck.

Danny was overwhelmed with the way Steve’s body clenched his dick when the man came. The extra pressure on his dick, accompanied by a little more friction as Steve rocked back and forth a little was all it took to send Danny over the edge. Grabbing Steve’s hips with both hands, he bucked and thrashed through his own orgasm. Danny was more vocal than Steve when the big moment came.

After about 30 seconds, when Danny had stopped moving, Steve leaned forward and kissed him once again, gently but firmly. A moment later Steve rose a bit and gently Danny slipped from Steve’s body. Steve unrolled the condom from Danny’s penis and stepped out of the room to the bathroom once again.

He returned a moment later with a wet washcloth, which he used to clean his sperm off Danny’s chest and belly, finishing with a quick swabbing of Danny’s penis. He disappeared from the room again for a few moments before returning, walking in a pace that could be described as a strut.

Danny was still on the bed but had fallen asleep so he was not aware of Steve’s presence. Steve smiled down at the man’s naked body, gently drawing a light blanket up to cover the beautiful man. He didn’t want the man to get too cold.

He slipped a pair of running shorts on and quietly left the room so as not to disturb the sleeping man. He wanted more than anything else to crawl into bed beside the man and take a nap himself, savoring the presence of the other man who turned him on so much, but he feared Danny would slip into freak out mode and run away if he pushed too far too fast.

He lay down on the couch in the living room, picking up the morning newspaper that he had not had a chance to check out earlier in the day before leaving for work. There was nothing of much significance in the news that day, just the usual politics in Honolulu, Washington, and the other usual players. Lots of posturing but little actual activity. Steve knew that he would never make a good politician. Big surprise there.

Finished with the newspaper he picked up the paperback book he had been reading, knocking out a few dozen pages before he heard Danny stirring in the bedroom. He jumped up when he heard Danny quietly asking, “Uh, Steve? You there? Have you seen my pants?”

“They’re on the floor, Danno, but don’t put them on on my account. I like the view as is,” he said admiringly as he stared at the man’s naked body.

“Thanks, I think,” he answered. “But I really would like to get dressed if you don’t mind.”

“Whatever makes you comfortable, Danno.”

Steve helped Danny find his clothes, including the shirts that Steve had carried in earlier as bait. He gave the man a few minutes to reassemble himself, returning to his book on the sofa while Danny dressed.

When Danny appeared in the kitchen he was completely redressed, complete with tie.

“Danno! Really! A tie? In my house?”

“Hey, my tie comes as part of the package that is me.”

Steve rolled his eyes in mock exasperation, setting his book aside as he stood to face the man. “You ok, Danny?”

“I’m not sure,” he answered honestly. “I never expected some big strong Navy guy to have his way with me today.”

“Go with the good, Danno. Go with the good,” Steve said with a smile.

“I’ll try that. Really, I will.”

“You don’t need to leave. You could stay and we could cook some steaks on the grill, have a quiet evening, watch some tv, whatever you want.”

“Thanks, but I think I should get home. You’ve given me a lot to think about today.”

Steve reluctantly agreed, but said, “On one condition.”

“Yes?”

“You do not, not, NOT, freak out on me. Ok?”

“I’m certainly going to try,” Danny said with a hint of a smile.

“Do more than try, please, Danno. I really like you, Danny Williams, and I don’t want you freaking out on me just because this is all new. If you really don’t like it or can’t stand the idea, we don’t ever have to do anything ever again. But if you do like what we did, I’m your guy.”

Danny smiled shyly. “Ok.”

Without any prompting, Danny moved forward and gave Steve a quick kiss. Steve smiled, very pleased with the man’s simple move. Steve walked him to the door and said, “Good night, Danno.”

“Night, Steve.” Steve watched him get into his car, adjust the seat way forward, start the car and drive away. Steve continued watching until the car was long out of sight. Leaning against the doorframe, Steve wondered what Danny would do next. He knew that he had pushed a lot of Danny’s boundaries out of shape that day. He knew that the man had enjoyed himself, but he also knew that Danny was the product of a culture that didn’t look kindly on sexual relations between two men. Still, he hoped that Danny would be ok. He really didn’t want to lose the man’s friendship, but he worried that that could happen if he did move fully into freak-out mode.”

Steve closed the door and leaned against the back of the door, thinking, mulling over his actions of the day. If Danny was surprised by what had happened between them, so was Steve. Not that he was surprised by his attraction to Danny. He had known about that since day one, from the first time he met the man. But he had convinced himself that nothing would ever happen between them. He didn’t set out to seduce the man – it just happened. Something had caused his attraction to the man to surface and take control. He didn’t regret what he had done. Not only had it felt good to Danny – he, too, had thoroughly enjoyed their activities. Steve had largely lived a monk’s life since his return to the islands. Even before that he had not been overly active. Living in the Navy didn’t always make for a conducive environment for guys to get together. He probably was vulnerable, weakened that day simply because it had been so long since he had been with a man and he had craved such an experience lately. Who better to share that experience than the one man who excited him beyond words?

That night he watched some TV and went to bed early, sleeping restlessly until it was time to get up and go to work. He was nervous about how Danny would behave when they were in one another’s company at work. He hoped for the best but wasn’t sure that was what he was going to get.

He got to work an hour earlier than usual. After futzing around the office for a few minutes, he went out to get a big coffee. When he got back he was still the first one in the office. Kono drifted in next, followed by Chin and then Danny. Steve was concerned that they were not very busy at the moment. He would have much preferred a heavier caseload to keep them busy and prevent Danny from obsessing.

They started their day with a staff meeting to review Danny and Steve’s trip to Maui the previous day. Steve asked Danny to describe what they had found, jumping in only twice to add a couple of minor points. “Good job, Danno,” he said in summation.

That simple comment caused both Chin and Kono to give one another a quick glance. They traded an ever so discrete raise of their eyebrows which neither Danny nor Steve noticed. Both men were working very hard to appear at ease with one another, which of course caused Kono and Chin to notice just that much quicker.

The morning passed uneventfully, and in Steve’s estimation too quietly. Of all times for Hawaii to have a crime-free spree, this was not the time. He wanted action. He craved action. He needed distraction, not only for himself but also for his team. He especially didn’t want Danny to simply sit, unoccupied, and dwell upon their assignation from the previous evening.

Steve, a man who usually had impeccable self-control, was seriously on edge all morning long. Every time anyone moved around their bullpen, Steve was on his feet to check out what was happening. Kono counted 24 occasions when the man popped out of his office before she simply gave up counting.

Through seemingly psychic connections, the two cousins traded “What the fuck is going on!?” glances repeatedly. Chin kept gesturing for his cousin to try to ignore their boss’ strange behavior. He could tell she wanted to jump up and ask Steve or Danny what had happened. Chin felt that that would not be a reasonable course of action and managed to persuade his cousin of that fact without ever saying a word.

However, after two hours he, too, was getting mighty curious. When Kono sensed that her cousin was waning in his resolve, the two switched roles with her trying to keep him quietly in his seat. At about 11:30 when Steve popped out of his office yet again, he walked past the door to Danny’s office where he thought he was being discrete when he glanced inside to see what the man was doing.

Back at his desk for not four minutes he was up once again, walking this time to the restroom. He returned to his desk a minute later and was again almost immediately up once again on some other fictitious errand that took him within sight of Danny’s office door.

When Steve returned to his office once again, Kono leaned over to Chin and said, “What the hell did he do this time? It must have been a whopper. I’ve never seen the man so spooked.”

Chin was about to give a response when Steve appeared yet again. This time he asked Chin some ridiculously simple question that everyone knew he knew the answer to already. When he disappeared back into his office, Kono said aloud, “This is ridiculous. Put the poor man out of his misery before he hurts himself!”

A moment later, pretty much on schedule, Steve appeared again, this time going to Danny’s office door where he asked, “Danno, you got plans for lunch?”

Looking up from some make work project he was doing, Danny answered, “Actually I do. Usually I don’t, but I’ve got plans to meet an old friend from New Jersey who’s in town on vacation. We worked together for several years and I haven’t seen him in awhile.”

Anyone watching – like Chin or Kono – saw the disappointment spread across Steve’s face as he quickly turned away and returned to his office. At least his constant bobbing up and down ended and the man stayed quietly in his office for an entire 11 minutes, a personal record that morning. Steve had clearly been watching the comings and goings in the office even though he had remained in his office. When Danny slipped out of the office for his lunch appointment, Steve followed not two minutes later, telling Chin and Kono that he was going to go home and go for a run on the beach. He said something vague about the quiet driving him nuts, which neither Chin nor Kono could argue based on his behavior that morning. They waved good bye to the man and each breathed a sigh of relief.

Kono turned to her cousin and said, “So, did he wear a hole in the floor from all of his pacing, or not?”

“I was getting seriously worried. I’ve never seen the man so on edge. Whatever happened, Steve is seriously worried that he’s done something that offended or upset Danny.”

“I wonder just what it would take to offend Danny, anyway?”

Chin frowned and said, “Not as much as you might think. For all of his bluster, he’s just as vulnerable to upset as anyone else. He just works really hard to distract you. Like a good magician – keep people focused on one thing while doing some sleight of hand work with the other.”

“Whatever is going on, I was getting tired just watching him bounce around. Thank God he went out to burn off some nervous energy. Do you think we’ll see him again today?”

“Hard to say. He might be back just to watch Danny some more.”

Kono moaned at the prospect of an afternoon like the morning. To their surprise, however, Steve reappeared in the office about 90 minutes later, having burned off an hour’s worth of nervous energy through an exhausting run.

When Danny returned to the office about an hour later, Steve was almost immediately back in the bullpen for one of his walk-throughs. About four or five minutes later Steve went to Danny’s door and, completely transparently, said, “Good lunch, Danno?”

“Yeah, good to catch up with someone from the old hood.”

“Good.”

“Sorry to be gone so long. Anything happen here while I was gone?”

“No, unfortunately it’s still just as quiet as it was this morning. I hate crime, but I really would much rather be busy than this sitting around crap.”

“I have to agree with you, big guy.”

Steve smiled when he heard Danny use one of his pet names for Steve. At least Danny wasn’t calling him by his title or using his last name. Had he done either of those things, Steve would probably have gone to the highest point in the islands and jumped.

Steve returned to his office and let a good hour pass before once again going to Danny’s office. After closing the door he said, “You ok with yesterday, Danno?”

“Yeah, I think so. Quite honestly I’m not entirely sure. This is all new for me. I mean REALLY new for me. Give me a little time to process everything. Ok?”

“Ok, Danno,” Steve answered. “Thanks. I really … Thanks Danno.”

Steve returned to his office and a few minutes later left for the day without a word.

The next morning Steve appeared early once again. Chin, already in the office when the boss arrived, noticed that the man had bags under his eyes as if he hadn’t slept the previous night. He decided to tackle the subject and said, “You look tired, boss. Trouble sleeping last night?”

“Yeah. Couldn’t get to sleep. Tell me we’ve got something to do today?”

“Can’t help you on that one. Maybe something will happen today.”

“Let’s hope or I may go nuts from the inactivity.”

Steve disappeared back into his office where Chin heard him tapping away at his keyboard, most likely surfing the Internet. Chin seriously doubted that the man was doing any work related research.

Danny and Kono both appeared closer to the actual target start time of the workday but both were relatively subdued. Danny spent the morning in his office, talking occasionally on the phone with someone. He left at about noon without a word to anyone. Chin noticed Steve standing at the window watching after Danny had left, clearly watching the man leave.

At that point Chin had had all that he could stand. He walked over to Steve and asked a simple question. “Boss, what’s wrong with you? You’ve been in a real funk for two days now. You and Danny have a fight or something?”

“Or something,” was all Steve cryptically said before he grabbed his car keys and told Chin that he had an errand to run and would be back later. “If anything happens call my cell.”

“Will do, boss,” Chin responded with a glance of concern for his boss.

Later that afternoon Chin conferred with his cousin but both were baffled by the behavior their boss was exhibiting. They went out to lunch and to run some personal errands. Given how quiet their week had been so far they felt comfortable taking the time to handle some personal business. Danny returned to the office about an hour after he left but kept to himself all afternoon before leaving about an hour earlier than usual. Steve never did reappear that afternoon and there was no need to contact him since nothing that required their attention happened the remainder of the day.

The next morning Steve arrived about an hour later than usual. Finding Chin and Kono at their desks reading their e-mail he knew they were in for another quiet day. He settled into his office for about an hour, accomplishing absolutely nothing.

When he reappeared to grab some coffee at about 11:00, he noticed that Danny’s office was dark.

“Where’s Danno?” he asked to no one in particular.

“He called in sick this morning.”

“Sick?” Steve asked incredulously. “Danny is never sick. Did he say what was wrong?”

“Sorry, boss, but no.”

“Fine,” he said somewhat curtly, retreating to his office once again.

Chin and Kono exchanged a worried look. Kono’s whispered comment was simply, “This is bad.”

“No kidding.”

“Think they’re gonna be ok?”

“I’m not sure what’s wrong so I can’t say if they’ll be ok.”

All was quiet in the office the remainder of the day. Steve said nothing further to either Chin or Kono before leaving at 5:00.

The next morning Steve was back but once again there was no sign of Danny. Chin saw Steve standing at his window with his hands shoved in his pockets and wanted to help but didn’t know if it was better to try or to leave the man alone to wallow in his own misery.

Fortunately for everyone their dry spell ended that morning when they were called to the scene of a multiple homicide. Steve dove into the investigation with both of his oversized feet. He used work to escape whatever was bothering him, giving orders to HPD and his own staff like a drill sergeant. His team would have done anything for him so they knew how to handle his approach, but others who had not dealt with the former Navy SEAL were quick to respond to his orders feeling a bit intimidated by the walking, talking control machine.

When they had been on the scene for six hours and rumors of an outright rebellion were brewing among the HPD officers, Chin cornered Steve. “Boss, we’re done here. You’re obsessing. Let these folks go home before you bankrupt the island with overtime charges. There’s nothing more we can do here.”

“Chin! We’re done when we’re done, not when the clock says we’re done.”

“Steve!” he said sharply. “We’re done here. You know it. I know it. They know it.”

Realizing that his colleague was right, Steve reluctantly conceded the point. “Fine,” he said. “Send everyone home.”

“You going home?”

“No. I’m going back to the office. You and Kono go home. That’s an order.”

“Excuse me boss, but last I checked, none of us are in the Army, the Navy, the Marines or the Air Force. What’s eating at you, Steve? You’ve been a mess all week. We’re worried about you, man.”

Kono had joined them in time to hear her cousin’s words of wisdom, echoing his advice. “Boss, whatever happened between you and Danny will work out.”

He looked away so that neither of them could see his eyes. “Maybe not this time. I may have fucked everything up big time. I think I’m gonna take your advice and go home. Thanks, guys. See you in the morning. Get some rest.”

They watched him stride across the street to his awaiting truck, unaccustomed to seeing him drive anything other than Danny’s car. Chin and Kono shared another of their looks, transmitting more information with one look than seemed humanly possible. Both were desperately worried about the two men they worked with than seemed possible.

In such a short time they had grown into a well-oiled, cohesive machine. To outward appearances they were cantankerous, argumentative, and obstreperous. But they knew the truth, that they worked together better than any group up to that point.

The next morning Steve appeared early, once again looking like something the cat dragged home from an alley somewhere. Chin doubted that the man had slept more than a few hours in the last several days. He looked like crap. People who didn’t get enough sleep didn’t function well. Their minds were not functioning optimally, and their emotions tended to be closer to the surface than usual.

When he noticed that once again Danny was nowhere to be seen, he asked Chin and Kono if they had heard from him.

“Not yet, boss.”

“This is unacceptable. We’ve got work to do and we can’t stand around and wait for him. If he wants to be part of this unit then he needs to put his personal problems aside – or get the hell out of here so we can get someone who’ll do the job!”

He retreated to his office and slammed the door.

“This is bad. This is so, so, so very bad,” Kono said, putting the obvious into words.

They heard nothing from Steve for an hour. When he came out of his office he said, “I’ll be back,” and strode out of the office.

Steve went directly to his car and drove to Danny’s hellhole of an apartment. He was near tears as he rushed through traffic, working himself up even more than he already was. He was angry that Danny had simply shut him out. He was angry at himself for making such a huge, fucking mess out of everything. He was angry with Danny for not talking with him. He was mad at himself. He was mad at the world. Mostly he was angry with himself but there was enough to go around.

When he approached an intersection where pedestrians were taking longer than he judged necessary, he swerved around them and yelled, “Get the fuck out of the way!” blowing the horn loudly as he raced past the confused people.

At Danny’s place he easily found a parking space and bounded up the stairs to Danny’s apartment door. Pounding his fist against the door he yelled at the top of his lungs, “Danny! Open this goddamned door! Now!”

When he heard nothing from within the apartment he stepped back one step and kicked in the front door before pushing into the apartment like a paratrooper entering a war zone. “Danny!” he shouted.

“What?” he heard from the direction of Danny’s sleeper sofa. He saw an unshaven, bleary eyed Danny Williams sit up in his bed – looking like crap. He stared at Steve for a minute before turning away and coughing. When Steve thought the man was about to hack up a lung the coughing finally subsided and Danny moaned, rolling onto his side.

He wheezed, “You kicked in my door!? I’m laying here on death’s door and you kicked in my fucking door! You Neanderthal! What did I do to earn this treatment?”

He coughed again, grabbed a tissue, and blew his nose. He sounded absolutely miserable. If Steve had not figured that out yet, Danny moaned once again, muttering that he Steve should just shot him and put him out of his misery.

“Danno! You’re sick!”

“What the fuck gave it away? Calling in sick for three days didn’t give you a clue? And here I thought we were starting to get some investigational skills under your belt.” He sat up again and said, “You kicked in my door! I’m dying here and you kicked in my door! I’m too sick to walk to the toilet and you kicked in my door! Now I’ve got to pee and get my door fixed! Thanks, big guy. Love you too.”

“Danno! You’re sick!”

“I thought we already covered that! You kicked in my door! I was finally asleep for the first time in days and you kicked in my door! You kicked in my door! Jesus, man!” Danny fell back onto his pillow and wheezed some more before saying, “I feel like crap. And you kicked in my door!”

“Danny! Why didn’t you call me?”

“And what? Give this crap to you, too? I wouldn’t wish this on my dog’s worst enemy, especially you. You should get out of here before you breathe some of my germs. Even super SEAL can get sick you know.”

Steve walked over to the man laying on the bed and felt of his forehead. “You’ve got a fever. You drinking lots of liquids?”

“No. I can barely get up to pee now. I’m certainly not gonna top off the tank and make it worse.”

Steve went into Danny’s kitchen and opened the refrigerator. He was intending to grab a bottle of water as he would have done at his own home, but found the refrigerator utterly bare.

“Danno! Where’s your food?”

“What food?” he asked.

“What are you eating?”

“Not eating. Not drinking. Just laying here dying.”

Steve grabbed his cell phone and made a quick call to Chin and Kono, giving them a quick report on Danny’s situation (including the kicked in front door). They both volunteered to come over immediately. Steve gave them a quick list of things to pick up on their way. He was interrupted midway through his list when several HPD officers arrived at Danny’s apartment door with guns drawn.

“HPD! Freeze!” someone yelled.

“McGarrett! Five-Oh,” Steve yelled back without making any sudden moves until they had identified him. Danny’s small apartment was flooded with four additional bodies, all with weapons at hand.

Danny looked up at Steve and said, “You brought company! Let’s make it a party. I’m laying here naked, dying, and you bring more people in to kick me while I’m down.”

Steve tried to explain what had happened, finding it altogether odd that HPD didn’t find it unusual coming from him. He was definitely getting a reputation he didn’t necessarily deserve – or did he?

When Steve got the officers sent on their way he found some sweat pants and a t-shirt for Danny, helping the man to slip into the clean clothes.

“What fresh hell do you have planned for me? Just leave me here in peace!” he begged.

“Come on, Danno. I’m getting you out of here.”

Danny whimpered and whined but it did no good. Steve simply leaned over and picked up the man.

“Put me down you big ape!” Danny ordered. “I’m not a child! I can walk! I just don’t want to. I just want to be left alone in my own bed in my misery. Is that too much to ask?”

“Yes,” was Steve’s only reply. He put Danny back onto his bed and told the man to walk on his own or he would be carried. Steve got some shoes on Danny’s feet and ushered him to the door.

“You kicked in my door!”

“Come on, Danno.”

“I can’t go anywhere! You kicked in my door! I can’t lock my door so I can’t go anywhere.”

Chin arrived at just the right moment carrying some tools and some supplies. A stranger was with him.

“You’ve invited more people. Oh swell.”

“Come on, Danno. Chin’s gonna take care of your door.”

“You kicked in my door.”

Slowly he got Danny out the door, down the stairs, and into his truck.

Between sneezes and snorts, Danny asked, “Where are you taking me?”

“To my place.”

“Why?”

“So I can take care of you.”

“I just want to sleep. I was sleeping – finally – until you kicked in my door!”

“Yes, yes, yes, I know. I kicked in your door. I didn’t know what was going on with you.”

“I was sick. I am sick.”

When they pulled up in Steve’s driveway, Kono was already there and had picked up what Steve had requested. While Steve ushered Danny into the guest room and tucked him into bed, Kono produced several different types of juice as well as bottled water and made him pick a couple of them.

She produced a variety of cold and flu medications and got several into him before leaving to return to the office with Steve’s thanks. “You need anything else, boss?”

“No, we’re good. Thanks, Kono.”

“No problem. Call if you think of anything. We’ll cover the office.”

“Call me if anything happens and I’ll be there.”

When he had seen her out he returned to Danny. On his way he picked up a wet washcloth which he placed on Danny’s forehead. He closed the curtains to the window and pulled out an extra blanket in case the patient got cold.

“Comfortable?” he asked before leaving the patient to sleep.

“Yes, as much as I can be at the moment. Thank you.”

“You want something to eat before you go to sleep?”

“I don’t honestly know what I want.”

“Then I have just the thing. Give me a couple minutes and I’ll be right back.”

A few minutes later he returned with a big mug filled with hearty chicken noodle soup. He got Danny positioned upright in bed, handed him a napkin, the soup, and a spoon, and instructed him to eat as much as he wanted but not feel required to finish it unless he wanted to.

Much to both men’s surprise, Danny finished the soup and handed the mug back to Steve. Steve disappeared for a minute before returning with another mug, this time some hot tea.

Between the soup and the tea, he was getting some liquids into the patient since he was concerned that he was becoming dehydrated. By the time Danny had finished the soup and the tea the various cold meds were kicking in and he was starting to feel sleepy. Steve left a bottle of water by the bedside with instructions to drink some when he was awake.

He fluffed Danny’s pillow, covered him with a light blanket and turned off the lights leaving the room as conducive to sleep as possible. And that was exactly what happened – the patient went to sleep. He had been through days of uneven sleep and was exhausted. His body craved sleep for an opportunity to heal itself.

Steve stuck his head in about every 20 minutes to check on his patient, to see if he was awake, to see if he needed anything, occasionally to touch his forehead to see if the fever had broken. He was delighted when toward evening the forehead finally felt cooler.

Even though he had tried to be quiet and careful to not disturb Danny, on one of his visits Danny stirred, opened his eyes, looked around and was momentarily confused about where he was. “Where am I?” he asked Steve.

“My house,” was all Steve said.

“Why am I here?” Danny asked, still partly asleep.

“So that I can take care of you. You’re sick, Danno, and you need to get better. You need food, you need liquids, you need rest, you need someone to take care of you, and who better to do that than me?”

“Thank you, Steve.”

He sat up on the bed and asked if he could take a shower. Steve helped him up and into the guest bathroom, getting him a large, fluffy towel and getting the water temperature set just right while Danny stripped out of his clothes. While Danny showered, Steve grabbed the clothes and threw them into the washing machine, along with the sheets from the bed. Before Danny reappeared toweling himself off, Steve had the bed remade and was fluffing the pillows.

“Steve, where are my clothes?”

“In the washing machine. They were as filthy as you were so I’m washing them. You’ve got clean sheets as well.” He patted the bed and said, “Here, get back into bed. You need rest to whip those bugs and get better.”

He got Danny settled back into bed and tucked the sheets and blanket around his legs. Danny was leaning/sitting in the bed, more awake now that he had showered and peed.

“Comfortable, Danno?”

“Yes, thank you.”

“Good. Stay there. I’ll be back in a minute.”

Steve returned a moment later with a mug of hot tea, a new bottle of ice-cold water, and some pills. He handed the pills to Danny, opened the bottle of water for him, and then asked if he wanted anything in his tea.

“No, thank you,” he said suspiciously. Taking the tea he asked, “So, who are you and what have you done with my Steve?”

Steve smiled. “One and the same guy, Danno.”

“Why are you doing this? I’m sick. I tried to keep my distance from everyone so that I wouldn’t share my germs.”

“You’re sick. You need someone to take care of you. You needed help. Where in the world else would I be but there to help you? I love you, Danno. Get used to it.”

“Thank you, Steve. I appreciate the help.”

“You were a mess laying alone in that dump of an apartment of yours. No food in the house, no bottles of water, no medications. You needed help and that’s my job.”

Danny was silent as he contemplated Steve’s words.

Steve continued while Danny quietly contemplated his words. “You know what they say, ‘in sickness and in health’, right?”

“Yes, but I don’t remember taking any such vows with you.”

“Yet. But trust me, in my mind I’ve got it all worked out. It was beautiful. I’m just getting a little head start on the ‘in sickness’ part.”

“Thank you.”

“Feeling any better?”

“Yes, I think I am feeling a bit better, or at least not any worse.”

“That’s a great step.”

Steve disappeared from the room for a few minutes and then returned with two pieces of wheat toast, lightly toasted and buttered. He handed the plate to Danny and offered him three different types of spreads to go onto the toast. Danny studied Steve as much as he studied the options provided. This behavior was completely out of character for the man he thought he knew. He had thought he had figured out everything about the man but then the last week had thrown him completely, absolutely, 180 degrees off base on everything he thought he knew. One, the sex … with Steve. The absolutely mind-blowing sex … with Steve!

And now the barbarian Steve was being loving and caring and was taking care of him when he felt like death warmed over. He didn’t know where Steve had kept this other person hidden. It made him wonder what else was hidden away in the former hiding place for this new persona.

Danny ate his toast, drank his tea, and then allowed Steve to move him outside to the patio where he could sit on a chaise lounge with his feet up, dappled sunlight gently caressing his body. A gentle breeze was coming in of the ocean keeping the usual humidity largely under control.

Steve placed a folded blanket beside Danny in case he got cool and needed something over his legs. Danny had a splendid view of the Pacific Ocean, which was magnificent. The day was sunny and warm – tropical – a classic sunny day in Hawaii. While Danny would never admit to this, he loved the view and found it incredibly beautiful.

Once he was satisfied with everything, he sat beside Danny with a cup of coffee, frequently looking admiringly over at this friend. As Steve had hoped, Danny drifted off to sleep, a combination of the cold medications and the beautiful, comfortable day.

Fortunately, Steve had remembered to change his cell phone from ring to vibrate mode so that when the office called it did not wake Danny. Steve quickly and quietly slipped back into the house to take the call, relieved that one, there was nothing that required his immediate personal attention, and two that he had two such reliable colleagues to take charge in his absence.

The call was Kono checking to see how Danny was feeling, and to ask if Steve needed any help with anything. Kono knew that Steve was an incredibly caring person even if he did not demonstrate great facility in demonstrating his dedication, or putting it into words. She thought to herself, ‘Well, he is male after all, and most men were not known for their sensitivity and expressiveness.’ She wisely chose not to put that thought into words so that her conversation with Steve was positive.

Danny slept for a couple of hours, during which time Steve gave some thought to dinner and did some initial prep work in the kitchen. It was just chance that Steve was nearby checking on Danny when the man woke from his nap.

The first thing that Danny saw when he opened his eyes was Steve standing beside him, looking down at him.

“Hi,” he said as he woke up.

“Hi. How you doing?”

“I’ll let you know when I wake up.”

“Fair enough. Can I get you anything? What would you like?”

“Bathroom first.”

Steve made a move to help him up but received a nasty look from Danny. “I can get myself up, thank you very much.”

Steve held up his two hands in a defensive move. “Just offering in case you felt the need.”

While Danny went into the bathroom Steve retreated to the kitchen. Moments later Danny appeared at the door in time for Steve to hand him a mug of hot tea along with a bottle of cold water. “Drink,” was all he said.

They sat together at the table. Sensing that Danny was now fully awake and seemed to be feeling a little better, he decided to tackle the conversation he had wanted to have but feared having at the same time.

“Danny, why didn’t you call me when you got sick? You shouldn’t have stayed alone in that hellhole of a fleabag apartment that you have. When you get sick you need someone to take care of you and do things for you. You should have called me.”

“Sorry. I didn’t want to give my germs to anyone at work. Trust me, I don’t want any of you to get this whatever this is. No one should ever get this.”

“Well, thank you but if you ever get sick and don’t tell me I will not be so kind.”

“Kind? Kind? You kicked in my door! In what world is that kind?”

Steve looked down briefly, momentarily castigated. “Sorry about that.”

“What was that all about anyway? You are a bit like a bull in a china shop, but you’ve never kicked in my door before? What brought that on?”

Danny thought he saw Danny blush a bit which made him look more closely. “You’re blushing! What did you think? Talk to me, big man!”

Steve looked anywhere but at Danny so Danny did all he could to get in Danny’s face. “You’re not getting out of this. Tell me what’s going on in that twisted mind of yours! Now!”

Steve looked up at Danny briefly and thought about how to say what he had been thinking.

“I didn’t think you were sick. I thought you were avoiding me because you were totally freaked by what we did earlier.”

Danny could understand Steve’s concern but he hated to let the man off the hook quite so easily.

“So kicking in my door was your way of showing your affection? Of trying to win me over? You are a strange man, Steve McGarrett. Has anyone ever told you that?”

“You do, on a daily basis.”

“Well, someone needs to do it – it’s a full time job.”

Steve was quiet for a minute before shyly looking up at Danny. “Are you interested in the job?”

“I …” Danny was surprised by the question.

“This is all new to me, Steve.” He was silent for a moment before adding, “but I’m leaning that way.”

Steve looked up surprised by the answer he had just heard. “Really?”

Danny thought the smile on Steve’s face was going to expand beyond his head.

“Just one question. Well, actually, a couple of dozen questions. But I’ll start with one now. Why me? I’m not exactly the easiest going guy to get along with. I’ve been told that I’m a bit pushing, although I don’t believe that for a minute …”

“You’re pushy, trust me.”

“Fine. Whatever. We’ll come back to that one.”

“Yes, dear.”

Now it was Danny’s turn to be speechless. It had been many years since anyone had called him by such an affectionate, loving term of endearment. After brief contemplation, he smiled. It was a good thing.

“Thank you. But why me?”

“Simple. You’re the one. The first one I’ve ever met who can match me point by point in just about everything. You don’t take any shit. You don’t let anyone walk over you, including me – even though you could once in a while just for the fun of it. You’re loyal, you don’t back down from anything or anyone. You stand by your friends and colleagues through thick and thin. You’re hotter than any man I’ve ever met before.”

“Wait, wait, wait. You said that before and I didn’t get it then anymore than I do now. I am many things, but I’ve never thought of myself as hot. Hot is the tall, dark and handsome Hollywood leading man. In other words, you; not me.”

“Trust me, Danny, you’re hot. My dick stands up and takes notice whenever you walk in the room. You turn me on like no one else.”

“How long have you felt this way?” he asked quietly.

“From the beginning. And I probably never should have said anything about it.”

“No, there we disagree. You should have said something before this.” Rethinking that he added, “Well, maybe. I’m not sure. You really surprised me.”

Steve smiled. “But you liked it, didn’t you?”

“Liked it? Hell yes! It was the best sex I’ve ever had in my life!”

“Really? It was your best?”

“Oh, Lord, not the ego again. Let me rephrase that. It was sort of enjoyable sex.”

Steve smiled broadly once again. “I’m the best you’ve ever had?! How about that? I’m the best Danny has ever had! I made his toes curl. Hot damn!” he said, pumping his fist into the air with a look of glee on his face.

“Hey! Hey! Hey!” Danny objected. “In my defense, I’ve had a bit of a dry spell for … the last couple of years. Still, it was maybe pretty good.”

Had Danny been on his feet and had he been feeling better he thought Steve would have high fived him or chest thumped him with excitement, pride and satisfaction. In a way – in a big way – it was exciting to see the man so happy. He had always thought that Steve didn’t smile enough.

Talk about hot men, Steve was the leading man in his eyes. The man had a smile that could warm the coldest heart and make miserable people happy. Unable to help himself, he matched Steve’s smile with one of his own.

“Danny Williams, you are a royal pain in the ass, but you’re my pain in the ass. You are a very special man. Don’t ever forget that. Don’t ever doubt that. Deal?”

“Right back at ya’ big guy.”

Steve then moved Danny back to bed so that he could sleep some more, recover from his illness so that he could take him to bed in a much more vigorous and participative manner. Steve smiled. He was a happy man.


End file.
